this post was submitted on 13 May 2026
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Coffee

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I don't like acidity in my coffee much. Stuff I get from my moka pot on the other hand was always very acidic.

Recently I bought a bag of very good, beautiful smelling beans from my favourite coffee shop and brewed it on moka pot. The results are still the same, it almost tastes like lemonade. It is undrinkable amounts of acid in there.

I use the 1zpresso Q Air. I tried nearly every grind setting between 1.6-0.9 (chart, please click). Always the same result.

I also tried starting with both hot and cold water. No difference.

I do not tamp my coffee and flatten it nicely by shaking the basket. I don't overfill the basket.

My moka pot is 2-3 years old and I might need to change its gasket, wonder if that has anything to do with it but i doubt it since the gasket still seals pretty good except for a 5-10mL water leak every brew.

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[–] brandon@lemmy.world 9 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Moka pot is probably the hardest common brew method to get right. If everything is coming out as sour, from specialty roasters to super dark grocery store beans, it’s most likely a process/technique issue rather than the brewer. I can give a few suggestions:

  1. Explore grind size more thoroughly. While marketing says it can be used for moka pot, it’s probably stretching its limits and I wouldn’t trust published chart numbers on range. Typically, if it’s sour, it’s under extracted and you should go with a finer grind size and increasing the amount appropriately. In another comment, you said going coarser gave better results so can try going even coarser as it’s possible it’s to too fine and over pressure is causing some form of channeling. Also, probably do a once over on your grinder, making sure everything is put together well and is zero’d properly.
  2. Double check the recipe you are using matches your pot size. Moka Pots come in different sizes so using a recipe for a larger/smaller pot could yield poor results.
  3. How are you applying heat? Constant heat until it’s done or taking it off/on based how it’s brewing? What does the stream of coffee look like, is it smooth and almost syrupy or bubbly and violent? As long as you are starting low and the stream is coming out smooth, I probably wouldn’t worry about heat much. If it’s coming out fast and bubbly though, turn down the heat or remove it from the heat completely when it starts going.
  4. Make sure you aren’t over tightening the pot. While it should be hand tight, you shouldn’t need to crank it super hard. You did mention that 5-10 ml leaks out which shouldn’t happen but could if its too tight due to overpressure.
[–] psud@aussie.zone 6 points 1 day ago

Lightly roasted coffee is often more sour than darker roasts

[–] Thwompthwomp@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

Mokas are a finicky beast. I’ve had it make some of the worst and some of the tastiest cups I’ve had. Is it acidic or bitter? It’s easy to burn it, but that doesn’t sound like the problem. I’m guessing it’s too fine. Every bag I got had to be individually dialed on, but in general I found a grind much more similar to drip/ pour over worked best. I’d try that. Fill your filter up to where there’s a good mound and lightly tap down with a spoon.

Also, have your changed your filter and gasket that go into the top portion? Those can get old grinds stuck in it easy that can taste off.

[–] 9point6@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago (2 children)

It may be that you're under-extracting it, a finer grind size would be the next thing to try.

Another thing to highlight is that lighter roasts have more acidity, so it may also be the beans you've got

[–] beeng@discuss.tchncs.de 4 points 1 day ago

Under extracting makes sense with no tamp.

[–] yogurtwrong@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Well I already grind very fine (coarse espresso grind!), and going finer results in even more acidity from what I found. It is probably channeling. I may be confusing bitterness with acidity but I doubt it since it just tastes like lemon.

I increased my grind size from 0.9 to 1.5 after reading some threads on the net and from what I remember 1.5 yielded better results. But it was still very acidic and lemony.

I don't think it is the beans. I specifically requested full bodied/low acidity beans and drank a cortado made from the same beans in that cafe. It was delicious and visibly less acidic compared to your average light roast.

[–] FreeBeard@slrpnk.net 6 points 1 day ago

Do you know about channeling? It happens when you grind too fine. Instead of an even flow through your coffee bed the flow forms channels of high flow rate. This produces a coffee that is underextracted and overextracted at the same time leading to a sour and bitter cup.

[–] evasive_chimpanzee@lemmy.world 2 points 20 hours ago

I may be confusing bitterness with acidity

I dont think this is necessarily what's happening here, but lots of people use the term "acidic" when really just trying to say that the coffee isnt sitting well with them, or that it's too "sharp"/strong.

Acidity/sourness/low pH are obviously all almost synonymous, but there are differences in their meaning in beverages. "Acidity" is usually just a characteristic that is neither positive or negative. E.g., an ethiopian coffee might have high acidity, which comes across as fruity. Sourness, is pretty much always a negative, and it's commonly the result of underextraction. Alternatively, it could be that your beans are too fresh, and they just need to be rested a little. Roasting creates CO2 in the beans, brewing releases that CO2 (creating the bloom of a pourover, or the crema of espresso). Dissolved CO2 creates carbonic acid, though, which is sour.

Alternatively, you aren't experiencing sourness but astringency. It has a similar lemon-like kick to your salivary glands, but a different cause. Astringency could be from overextraction, or too high of a temperature.

If you are already at an espresso grind, I would go much more coarse. Also, try to keep the temp down so the coffee comes out slow and steady. Also, if you are using beans within the week they are roasted, maybe wait a week to use them. Lastly, like other noted, moka pots are somewhat hard to use because the physics dont let you mess with as many variables as something like an aeropress. It could be that its just not the best method for you.

Tamp it evenly